In recent years, the need to protect people from the effects of major disasters, both natural and man-made, has been highlighted. The most effective way of saving lives is for those people in effected areas to receive an early warning of an impending disaster.
At present, authorities around the world have been able to communicate effectively with their employees and other emergency personnel through well-established protocols specifically set up for that purpose. The difficulty has been to reach members of the public in an impending disaster area so that those people can begin to evacuate and take other measures to protect themselves.
At the moment, emergency and other associated personnel have to be apprised of a particular situation first and then they have to get that information to the public. As a result, precious time is lost which can equate to loss of life.
Not only is there a need for the information to be received quickly, there is also a need for accurate information to be received by the public. The nature of the information is important for two main reasons. Firstly, it has to be accurate so that the recipient knows exactly what to do. Secondly, it must have authority. Because of the large amount of unsolicited information the public receives presently, there is a high level of cynicism in the public concerning such information.